The silence before a mission was always the loudest.
Ejilah stood perched on a rooftop, staring down at the highly secured military facility below. Floodlights swept the compound, casting rotating shadows across the thick concrete walls. From their vantage point, he and Aron could spot at least a dozen patrol guards, two snipers, and the red glow of motion sensors lining the fence.
"You sure about this?" Aron muttered, cocking his weapon.
Ejilah didn't respond immediately. His eyes were sharp, calculating. "The boss gave us a target. We finish it. No questions."
Aron snorted. "Yeah, sure. But this isn't just any file. Sin wants *top-level* military clearance. This thing better be worth risking both our heads."
Ejilah glanced at his partner. "We'll find out soon enough."
The plan was simple — blackout the systems for five minutes using the scrambler device, get in, extract the intel, and get out. Clean. Quiet.
That was the plan.
Reality was something else.
***
The scrambler worked perfectly. As soon as the lights across the compound blinked out, Ejilah and Aron moved like shadows. They scaled the outer fence, dodged motion sensors, and slipped into the east wing.
A soldier rounded the corner—Ejilah drove his blade silently into the man's side, catching him before he hit the floor.
Aron flung a throwing knife into another's neck with precision. No hesitation.
They moved through the corridors like trained ghosts, leaving unconscious bodies behind them. But the closer they got to the vault, the heavier the tension became.
A final hallway. Two heavily armed guards.
Ejilah lunged first, using the dark to his advantage. He disarmed the first with a brutal twist of the arm, then spun behind him to knock him unconscious. The second turned to fire—Aron was faster. A bullet to the leg. One punch to the jaw. Silence.
They reached the vault door.
"This is it," Aron whispered, breathing hard. "You ready?"
Ejilah inserted the decryption chip Sin had provided. The panel blinked green. The vault hissed open.
A single terminal sat inside, glowing faintly. And in the center, a locked box with a blinking light.
Ejilah approached and activated the terminal. Dozens of encrypted files appeared, and then—one video auto-played.
A man appeared on the screen.
Rugged, weathered, with a thick beard and sharp, intelligent eyes. His military coat was torn and stained, his face marked with old scars. Yet something about him made Ejilah freeze.
"…Father?" he whispered.
The man began to speak:
"If you're watching this, then they're coming."
Aron leaned forward, confused. "Who the hell is that?"
Ejilah's eyes didn't leave the screen. His voice was tight. "My father. He was supposed to be dead."
The man continued, "I'm Lieutenant Xander Sara. For years, I was part of a covert research program under the global defense council. We found something buried beneath the Earth. Alien. Technology that doesn't belong here."
Aron's eyes widened. "Wait, wait… *aliens*?"
Ejilah didn't respond.
His father's voice became more serious. "They are coming to drain Earth's core. They've done it to other planets. And we're next. I tried to warn them. They didn't listen. If you're hearing this… prepare."
The video cut off.
Silence.
"...Aliens?" Aron repeated, almost laughing. "Bro, tell me I'm dreaming."
Ejilah didn't speak. His hand was clenched tightly into a fist. That was his father — alive, or at least he had been. Not a casualty of war. A man who knew something no one else believed.
Suddenly — alarms blared.
"Intruders in Section Delta!"
The vault lights snapped on. Security systems rebooted.
"We've been made!" Aron yelled.
Ejilah grabbed the drive and yanked it from the terminal.
Soldiers poured into the hallway.
Aron fired, covering Ejilah. "MOVE!"
They sprinted into the corridor, dodging bullets, sliding behind walls. Ejilah tossed a smoke grenade that exploded into a thick fog. Gunshots cracked through the chaos.
A soldier charged—Ejilah grabbed his arm, twisted it, slammed him to the floor, and stole his rifle.
Aron covered the rear, two shots to the knee, one to the arm.
They fought like wolves cornered. Every step was survival.
Ejilah's movements felt sharper than ever. Not because of training — but the system. It was still silent, but something inside him buzzed. Like it was preparing for something greater.
One final hallway. An exit sign above.
More guards blocked their path.
Ejilah charged first. Slid under a burst of bullets. Uppercut to the jaw. Knee to the chest. Disarm. Elbow to the throat.
Aron followed, jumping off the wall to slam another guard into the glass door.
Shattered.
They burst outside and vanished into the night.
***
At the safehouse, both of them collapsed into chairs, breathing heavily.
"What the hell was that…" Aron muttered. "Your dad's alive? And talking about *aliens*? We just stole proof that aliens are real?!"
Ejilah stared at the flash drive in his hand. "This... changes everything."
And deep down, for the first time since he became a killer, he didn't know who the real enemy was anymore.